Plateau



5, 1952 MARGARET LEWIS ALSO 2,584,392

KNOWN As MAGGI LEWIS PLATEAU Filed Aug. 20, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

MARGARET LEWISJLSO BKQOWN AS MAGGI LEWIS ATTOR N EYS Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED "STATES -reur OFFICE The present invention relates to a-nove'l plateau construction and in particular to the construction of the frame therefor.

A plateau is an ornamental piece adapted to be placed upon a table top or other supporting surface. It may assume a large variety of sizes and shapes and may be variously ornamented depending upon the particular piece of furniture with which it is used and the-particulardecorative scheme into whichit is to be assimilated. Since a plateau is a relatively permanent piece of equipment, it must be substantially constructed and is normally of appreciable size. It may consist of a decorative plaque in the form of a mirror, an ornamental panel or the like mounted within and supported by a legged frame. .In view of the size and the necessarily substantial nature of the plaque, this frame must be heavy and. strong so as to properly support the plaque and Withstand the strains incident upon normal usage. It has been customary in the past to form these frames in one piece, but this has been an exceedingly difficult operation, particularly when the frames are formed of cast metal. a

It is essential, if the plateau is to perform its desired function, that it 'be ornamented a f nished manner, and attempts to mold,cas t or otherwise form plateau frames-in one piece have required the exercise of considerable care and skill, have resulted inthe production of many defective pieces for each acceptable piece, have presented manifold problems in assembling the plaque into the frame, and forv all practical purposes involve the destruction of the entire frame if the plaque is damaged, or if only a portion of the frame is damaged.

It is the prime object of the present invention to devise a plateau construction which avoids the above disadvantages and at thsa'me time provides for a structure which is highly decorative in nature. a I

More specifically, it is another prime object of the present invention to devise a plateau having a frame which is formed in sections, the sections being assembled together and being" so constructed that, when assembled, they give the appearance of a unitary structure.

It is recognized that multi-section frames for pictures and the like are not, in and of themselves, novel. Such frames have not, however, been possessed of suflicient mass'i'veness to function as plateau frames nor have they, when assembled, been able to present the attractive appearance and to resemble a unitary. frame to nearly the same extent as does the frame of the 2 Claims. (01. 211 1265 plateau of'my invention. The vastly improved results inherent in my design are derived from the particular construction thereof, as hereinafter pointed out. a

It is yet another object of the present invention to devise a plateau having a multi-section frame so constructed and arranged that the sections may be easily assembled together, the plaque may be easily secured within the frame by the mere act of assembly, and the plaque may be easily removed from the frame merely by disassembling the latter.

A further object of the present invention is to devise a plateau having a sectional frame each of the sections of which is identical one with the other, so that damage to a portion of the frame will merely involve replacement of that section which is damaged, the undamaged sections being reuseable. Another advantage of this type of construction is that the identical frame sections may be produced on a relatively large scale, thus reducing the cost of the individual sections. Also, becausepeach section is only a fraction of the size of the assembled frame, they may be cast or otherwise formed with relatively complex ornamentation without undue difficulty, and the ornamentation will be formed in a precise and finished manner.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a plateau as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.1 is a top view of a plateau;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken the line 2-2 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View from the interior of the plateau showing two ends 'of adjacent sections about to be assembled; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but taken from the outside of the plateau.

The plateau, generally designated It, includes a four section frame, the sections being designated 'l I, [2, I3 and 14, each section being here illustrated as one-quarter of the circumference of a circle, the sections when assembled supporting a circular plaque 15 here shown in the form of a mirror. It will be understood, however, that the plaque maytake any one of a multiplicity of forms.

Each of the sections ll, l2, l3 and I4 are iden tical and a description of one will serve as a description of all. Each section" comprises a body along portion 35 carrying on its interior surface a projecting ledge It upon which the plaque l5 rests. The upper edge of the body portion 35 is provided with an inwardly overhanging lip 36, the lip 33 and the ledge l6 extending along the entire length of the body portion 35 and defining therebetween a channel 32 in which the edge of the plaque i5 is receivable. It is preferable that the height of the channel 32 be equal to the thickness of the plaque l5 so that the latter is snugly received therein, but this is not essential. The external surface of the body portion 35 is suitably ornamented, the ornamentation being here illustrated in the form of a line of nubs 24, a thickened portion 28 at the bottom edge, and a raised portion 22 with a curved outer surface near the 7 top edge. The outer surface of the lip 33 is also preferably ornamented by means of a plurality of lip elements 38 here shown as individual U- shaped elements starting at the upper edge of the protruding portion 22 and curving over the top of the body portion 35, the central outer surface of these elements 38 being concave. This particular shape is merely exemplary of any one of a number of shapes which might be employed, but it is a particular feature of this method of ornamentation that each of the lip elements 33 has a line of demarcation 33 therebetween, these lines all being similar in shape and orientation. The purpose of this arrangement will be made apparent hereinafter.

At one end of the body portion 35 there is a laterally protruding tongue l8, preferably of a thickness less than that of the body portion 35, the inner surface of which may constitute a smooth extension of the inner surface of the body portion 35. The ledge I6 is provided with an extension l6 along the length of the interior surface of the tongue 18. The upper edge 3? of the tongue [8 is preferably positioned slightly below the overhanging lip 33 so as to define the shoulder 43 and the lower edge 31 of the tongue l3 may be slightly above the lower edge of the body portion 35 so as to define a shoulder 41.

At the other end of the body portion 35, the interior surface is hollowed out to form a recess 19 of dimensions such that the tongue It will snugly fit therein, the end edge 26 of the tongue 8 fitting snugly against the inner edge 2? of the recess [9. The depth of the recess 19 is preferably equal to the thickness of the tongue 18 so that when two sections, such as the sections H and I2, illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, are assembled, the inner surfaces of the two sections will be at the same level. In order to'ensure accurate fitting of the two sections, shoulders 4i and 43' may be formed on said other end of the body portion 35 which meet withthe shoulders 4| and 43 on the first mentioned end.

The tongue [8 is provided with an aperture 35 and the other end of the body portion 35 is provided with a socket 3!, here illustrated as formed partially in a convex protrusion 44 which fits within a concave mating portion 45 in the outer surface of the frame section assembled therewith, thus further ensuring accurate alignment between the two assembled sections. The aperture 33 and socket 3| register when the two frame sections are in assembled position, and a fastening member which may take the form of screw 32 is passable through the aperture 30 into the socket 3! to secure the assembled sections together. When ascrew 32 is used, the socket 35 should be internally threaded.

In order that the two sections, when assembled. present an appearance of integralness, a decora tive plate 33, here shown in the form of a leaf, is provided on the outer surface of the end of the body portion 35 which has the recess 19. This decorative plate 33 extends laterally out from the body portion 35 preferably a distance equal to half of the width of the plate 33 itself. Grooves 23, 25 and 29 may be provided on the inner surface of the plate 33 so shaped as to receive the protruding ornamentation 22, 24, and 28 respectively on the outer surface of the body portion 35. By reason of this construction, the visible line between two frame sections when assembled, such as the sections H and I2 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, as well as the tongue 18, is completely hidden from view from the exterior of the plateau. The plate 33 is preferably integrally formed with the body portion 35 and hence the frame, when the sections are assembled, exhibits no clue to the observer that it is anything other than a single integral piece.

The decorative plate 33, may, if desired, be extended over the top of the'frame so as to hide the visible line of demarcation 40 between the lips 36 when the sections are assembled. However, when the lips 33 are formed as disclosed heretofore, with individual lip elements 38 having lines of demarcation 39 therebetween, this is not necessary, since when the sections are assembled, the line of demarcation 40 between the assembled sections at the lips 36 is indistinguishable from the lines of demarcation 39 between the individual lip elements 38.

For purposes of uniformity, each of the sections ll, [2, l3 and I4 is provided with a leg ll so that the plateau, when assembled, may be placed upon a supporting surface. It has been found preferable to form each leg I! integral with the decorative plate 33 so that the two may blend one into the other and thus enhance not only the decorativeness of the plateau but also its massiveness and its integral appearance.

Each of the sections ll, l2, I3 and I4 together with the decorative plates 33, the legs H, the lip elements 38, the ornamentation 22, 24 and 23, the tongue I8, etc. may all be cast in one piece from any suitable material, which may thereafter, if desired, be plated with a precious metal such as silver.

Assembly of the plateau is an exceedingly simple matter. The plaque I 5 may be inserted into the channel 32 of one of the frame sections, and the other frame sections may thereafter be assembled one after the other by causing the tongues l8 to move snugly into the recess [9, while at the same time causing the exposed edge of the plaque l5 to pass within the channel 32 of the newly added section. The sections may all be secured together in assembled position by threading the screw 32 through the aperture 30 into the socket 3|, the screw being accessible from the inside of the plateau since it is located below the ledge 16 upon which the plaque l5 rests. If it bedesired to replace the plaque l5, disassembly of the frame sections is just as simple as assembly thereof. If damage occurs to one of the frame sections, only that frame section need be replaced, the undamaged frame sections being reusable since all of the sections are identical.

By virtue of the particular interlocking construction here described, a firm and rigid interconnection is achieved, the two frame sections abutting one another at the edges 26 and 21 of the tongue [8 and recess [9 respectively, at the edges 20 and 2| of the lips 36, at the mating portions 44, 45, and at the shoulders 4| and 4| and 43, #53. The meeting line of the sections is hidden from view from the exterior of the plateau by means of the decorative plates 33 and, in the embodiment here illustrated, the meeting line 40 between the lips 39 is indistinguishable from the lines of demarcation 39 between the individual li elements- 39. Consequently, the multi-section assembled frame has an appearance indistinguishable from that of a unitary frame but is capable of being manufactured at considerably less cost and has the other advantages set forth above. Since the frame need not be cast all in one piece, the production of more elaborate ornamentation in more finished form is rendered possible on a production scale and the danger of rejects is materially decreased because any rejected piece involves only a fraction of the cost of the entire frame.

It will be apparent that variations may be made from the specific construction here disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A plateau comprising a plaque and a frame therefor, said frame comprising a plurality of sections each having a ledge projecting inwardly along the length thereof for supporting said plaque, one end of each section terminating in a tongue the interior surface of which carries an extension of said ledge and the other end terminating in a front decorative portion with a leg depending therefrom, the tongue of one section being wholly receivable behind the dectherebetween a channel for receiving and supporting said plaque, a tongue at one end of each section and having an aperture therein, the upper surface of said tongue being lower than said lip, said ledge continuing along the interior of said tongue, at decorative plate integral with said body portion on the outer surface of the other end of each section, said plate projecting laterally beyond said other end, the inner surface of said other end having a recess below said lipinto which the tongue of another secin said 6 7 tion is receivable, said other end having a socke which registers with said aperture in said tongue of another section when said sections are assembled, and a fastening member receivable in said aperture and socket for securing said sections together, said decorative plate hiding from view the junction line between said assembled sections.

3. A plateau comprising a plaque and a frame therefor, said frame comprising a plurality of sections each comprising a body portion, an inwardly overhanging lip along the top thereof, an inwardly projecting ledge along the interior surface thereof below said lip, said ledge and said lip defining therebetween a channel for receiving and supporting said plaque, a tongue at one end of each section and having an aperture therein, the upper surface of said tongue being lower than said lip, said ledge continuing along the interior of said tongue, a decorative plate integral with said body portion on the outer surface of the other end of said section, a leg depending from said plate and integrally formed therewith, said plate projecting laterally beyond said other end, the inner surface of said other end having a recess below said lip into which the tongue of another section is receivable, said other end having a socket which registers with said aperture in said tongue of another section when said sections are assem bled, and a fastening member receivable in said aperture and socket for securing said sections together, said decorative plate hiding from view the junction line between said assembled sections.

MARGARET LEWIS, Known as Maggi Lewis.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 187,481 Pierce Feb. 20, 1877 340,430 Donelly Apr. 29, 1886 429,443 Hassett June 3, 1890 477,564 Maxmillan June 21, 1892 539,318 Wanner May 14, 1895 1,233,497 Ohnstrand July 17, 1917 1,267,352 Baker May 28, 1918 1,788,209 Sheehan Jan. 6, 1931 1,940,320 Oxenreiter Dec. 19, 1933 2,114,617 Verhagen Apr. 19, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,740 Great Britain 1915 334,011 France Dec. 9, 1903 

